Member
north of Toronto (+US address)
(This post was last modified: 04-15-2016, 04:59 AM by DanielB.)
Hi all,
I'm Daniel from Canada (just north of Toronto), I'm 39, and I've been DE shaving my face & head since Christmas. I used to shave every day (sometimes even twice due to fast beard growth) with an electric razor and/or whatever free cartridge razor I could get my hands on - and I had many. When my electric razor became dull, and I remembered how expensive new cutters and foil were, I started exploring the world of safety razors. I decided to ask Santa for a Merkur 39C Slant for Christmas, along with some TOBS soap, a few packs of various blades, an apothecary style mug, and a cheapo boar brush - just to tide me by until I could get myself a Satin Tip - The Purest synthetic, a few weeks later. I got the ST and like it very much.
My first 2 DE shaves were bloodbaths... I filled a sheet a paper towel with red spots (each day). Soon got that out of my system, and was down to just a few weepers, but then irritation became a daily issue. 3 weeks in, I came up with the idea of using a homemade superslick preshave gel made out of xanthan gum+water and that was a revelation - 0 weepers, 0 irritation most days from then on. I even tried it with a discarded blade (a Crystal/IP with 6Face+2Head shaves on it) that I'd previously had lots of trouble getting smooth with and it was now like a whole new blade!
Shaving every day to 100% BBS against the grain, I was making good progress but I wasn't happy with the length of time it was taking me to shave. I watched many videos on YouTube and found it hard to believe that the WTG+XTG or same+ATG techniques I was seeing in use left those men with BBS. Doing the same would leave me "toasty", nowhere close to BBS. Even with a new Feather, it was taking me considerable effort and lots of buffing to get smooth. To save time, I cut down from WTG+XTG+ATG-buffing to "S-Path"+ATG buffing. I don't know if anyone else does "S-Path", but it's like lawnmowing your face, doing from ear to nose then back over the same swath in the opposite direction, then move down a bit and repeat. Rinse and relather, then do the ATG buffing pass. I was now doing 15-20 minute shaves (from preshave to alum), usually.
Curious about trying something more aggressive, I ordered a Fatip Piccolo. The first few shaves with that gave me incredible burn, but no blood. I mastered it a few shaves later. Using an exclusively shallow angle made all the difference! I find it is an efficient razor but it doesn't give me anywhere near as long-lasting BBS as the 39C - 5-6hrs vs minimum of 12hrs and 15hr-average until I feel the first hair growth ATG. The "Sledgehammer" gives great long-lasting shaves that are always bloodless and irritation free, now that I've got my technique down - but I do have to use a degree of care with it. The Piccolo by comparison is a pussycat, and I find it actually performs better when handled roughly. I've even done 1-pass (buffing) ATG shaves on 30hr growth, in 12 minutes start to finish. I rotate between the 2 razors, not necessarily every day but frequently for sure.
I've even forgotten to use my xg preshave a few times and not even noticed until the 2nd pass, then carried on anyway without any issue. I still use it daily though, as it's like less than a penny a day, but gives me a nice slick base in case my lather isn't as good as it should be. I've also now got Tabac soap and a tube of Nivea Men's Shaving Cream - Sensitive Skin - oh, and over 50 different brands of razor blades to try. AD was kicking in...
In February, I spotted a couple of super-hot deals and ordered a 45C Bakelite and a Progress short - but both orders, from different vendors, got cancelled on me due to non-availability. Damn, I wanted to try more razors! I'm in on the Rockwell Model T via Kickstarter, and will be getting a Fine Accoutrements Slant as soon as they're available. Maybe the soap, too. We'll see! I've also picked up a few other razor blades, too. I've barely made a dent in my blade sampler pack.
So far my top 4 blades are: Blue Bird, Polsilver SI, Rockwell Stainless and Feather. I've currently got 17F+4H shaves on my Rockwell blade.
Oh, and I'm here on DFS at another member's recommendation. I'm happy to see that DFS welcomes any shaving-related subject matter, not just shaving-related subject matter that meets hard content rules that promote the forum-owner's self-interests.
I'm Daniel from Canada (just north of Toronto), I'm 39, and I've been DE shaving my face & head since Christmas. I used to shave every day (sometimes even twice due to fast beard growth) with an electric razor and/or whatever free cartridge razor I could get my hands on - and I had many. When my electric razor became dull, and I remembered how expensive new cutters and foil were, I started exploring the world of safety razors. I decided to ask Santa for a Merkur 39C Slant for Christmas, along with some TOBS soap, a few packs of various blades, an apothecary style mug, and a cheapo boar brush - just to tide me by until I could get myself a Satin Tip - The Purest synthetic, a few weeks later. I got the ST and like it very much.
My first 2 DE shaves were bloodbaths... I filled a sheet a paper towel with red spots (each day). Soon got that out of my system, and was down to just a few weepers, but then irritation became a daily issue. 3 weeks in, I came up with the idea of using a homemade superslick preshave gel made out of xanthan gum+water and that was a revelation - 0 weepers, 0 irritation most days from then on. I even tried it with a discarded blade (a Crystal/IP with 6Face+2Head shaves on it) that I'd previously had lots of trouble getting smooth with and it was now like a whole new blade!
Shaving every day to 100% BBS against the grain, I was making good progress but I wasn't happy with the length of time it was taking me to shave. I watched many videos on YouTube and found it hard to believe that the WTG+XTG or same+ATG techniques I was seeing in use left those men with BBS. Doing the same would leave me "toasty", nowhere close to BBS. Even with a new Feather, it was taking me considerable effort and lots of buffing to get smooth. To save time, I cut down from WTG+XTG+ATG-buffing to "S-Path"+ATG buffing. I don't know if anyone else does "S-Path", but it's like lawnmowing your face, doing from ear to nose then back over the same swath in the opposite direction, then move down a bit and repeat. Rinse and relather, then do the ATG buffing pass. I was now doing 15-20 minute shaves (from preshave to alum), usually.
Curious about trying something more aggressive, I ordered a Fatip Piccolo. The first few shaves with that gave me incredible burn, but no blood. I mastered it a few shaves later. Using an exclusively shallow angle made all the difference! I find it is an efficient razor but it doesn't give me anywhere near as long-lasting BBS as the 39C - 5-6hrs vs minimum of 12hrs and 15hr-average until I feel the first hair growth ATG. The "Sledgehammer" gives great long-lasting shaves that are always bloodless and irritation free, now that I've got my technique down - but I do have to use a degree of care with it. The Piccolo by comparison is a pussycat, and I find it actually performs better when handled roughly. I've even done 1-pass (buffing) ATG shaves on 30hr growth, in 12 minutes start to finish. I rotate between the 2 razors, not necessarily every day but frequently for sure.
I've even forgotten to use my xg preshave a few times and not even noticed until the 2nd pass, then carried on anyway without any issue. I still use it daily though, as it's like less than a penny a day, but gives me a nice slick base in case my lather isn't as good as it should be. I've also now got Tabac soap and a tube of Nivea Men's Shaving Cream - Sensitive Skin - oh, and over 50 different brands of razor blades to try. AD was kicking in...
In February, I spotted a couple of super-hot deals and ordered a 45C Bakelite and a Progress short - but both orders, from different vendors, got cancelled on me due to non-availability. Damn, I wanted to try more razors! I'm in on the Rockwell Model T via Kickstarter, and will be getting a Fine Accoutrements Slant as soon as they're available. Maybe the soap, too. We'll see! I've also picked up a few other razor blades, too. I've barely made a dent in my blade sampler pack.
So far my top 4 blades are: Blue Bird, Polsilver SI, Rockwell Stainless and Feather. I've currently got 17F+4H shaves on my Rockwell blade.
Oh, and I'm here on DFS at another member's recommendation. I'm happy to see that DFS welcomes any shaving-related subject matter, not just shaving-related subject matter that meets hard content rules that promote the forum-owner's self-interests.
